LIFE AFTER 8? (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Is this No8 the car to revive DS? Jonathan Crouch drives it and decides.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 37

DS turns a corner with this No8, a fashionable mid-sized EV uncompromised by the style that defines it. Previous DS models were primarily trendy trinkets; this one's got real substance, but the competition it faces is fierce.

Backgroundword count: 221

Let's be honest, DS needs a fresh start. The Parisian Stellantis brand has struggled since separating from Citroen back in 2014 and its sales performance a decade on from that was particularly disappointing, 25% down on figures that weren't very high to start with. The fight back though, started in mid-2025 with the launch of this car, the DS No8, heralding a fresh approach to the way the French maker designs, engineers and markets its cars. With that fresh approach comes a new naming convention, copied from Gallic fashion house Chanel with its No5 and No19 perfumes. The 'Number' format (which DS has been dabbling with the idea of ever since it showed its very first concept car, the 'Numero Nine') has since continued with subsequent new DS models (the No4 and the No7). But none of them are quite as strikingly styled as this one, inspired by the marque's Aero Sport Lounge concept of 2020. The No8 is a luxury mid-sized EV aimed at the premium market. And it more ritzily re-packages the STLA platform and battery tech of two more mainstream Stellantis models, the Peugeot 3008 and the Vauxhall Grandland. DS calls this a 'coupe-SUV', but it's actually a crossover-style hatch similar to key rivals like the Polestar 4 and the Tesla Model Y. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 353

At first glance, there's not much very 'DS' about this No8 model's engineering, which as you would expect from a brand yet to prove itself, is borrowed wholesale from the Stellantis parts bin. That means the STLA platform first seen in the Peugeot 3008 and subsequently in the Vauxhall Grandland. Complete with a choice of 74kWh or 97.2kWh battery packs, the latter also offered as part of a dual motor powertrain. So far, so familiar. But where DS aims to set this No8 apart is, appropriately enough for a Parisian product, in the way it rides. Hence the fitment of bigger-battery models with the latest version of the company's Active Scan suspension system. We weren't especially impressed with this when we first tried it on earlier versions of the DS 7, the concept based around a windscreen-mounted camera that reads the road and pre-loads each damper to compensate for upcoming tarmac tears. DS though has worked on the set-up, which now better counteracts the effect of pitch and dive, drawing from a brace of accelerometers situated around the car feeding data to the dampers. The result ought to be almost air suspension-like, but still isn't quite that. Still the ride is certainly excellent, which along with the hushed refinement (helped by standard laminated glass) makes this car a great companion for longer trips. All that's welcome, but what the No8 really needs in this time of faltering EV sales and renewed interest in PHEVs is the combustion engine option its STLA platform could easily have accommodated. Something DS has hobbled sales significantly by not providing. Instead, the EV-only line-up kicks off with a 74kWh model powered by a 230hp motor on the front axle. 62mph takes 7.7s and range is quoted at between 281 and 364 miles. Ideally though, you'd stretch to a bigger-battery Long Range 97.2kWh No8. The rear-driven version we tried offers 245hp, 0-62mph in 7.8s and between 374 and 471 miles of range. The AWD Long Range flagship variant, which gains a rear axle motor, offers 350hp, makes 62mph in 5.4s and offers between 357 and 431 miles of range.

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